Heart desires, heart loves
by babyvfan
Summary: The heart often can be confusing, espescially when you felt affection&attraction for someone you weren't meant to be with in the first place. A young man and woman figure this out after a dance and secrets revealed. AN: Inspired by Romeo


_I've come this far, so there's no sense backing out now. _

That was the thought going through the mind of the handsome, dark-haired young man as he was using the strong ivory vines supporting his weight while climbing the high orchard walls surrounding the massively huge estate, which was high-secured with _deadly_ security guards known for their deadly ways of dealing with intruders. Surely, he'd suffer those ways and end up a dead corpse if he were to be discovered.

He could still hear the echo of his friends still calling his name, Timmy trying to resort on teasing him for being a dreamer in hopes it would make him come to his senses and come back to him, but he couldn't turn back now.

He followed the way they came into the mansion when they arrived, acting smart as he decided to go the back way instead the front as he saw the party was closing and people coming out, with stern-eyed guards posted all over the front gate.

But he couldn't turn back now; not when he was came this far and too determined to back out now.

Even when he was suffering pain from his strain hands that continued to pull and his exhausted legs that were still climbing, if sharp thrones were pricking against his skin and causing some bloody wounds, he couldn't give up.

All of it was worth it to see her again.

It was so odd to him how everything could be immediately changed in a minute.

After weeks and weeks of him acting like a ghost haunting the halls of his home after suffering through a harsh rejection from the girl he liked and remaining inside his room, where he sought no use for company of no one else besides himself, his loyal cousin and best friend decided it was time for him to have some fun again and come to a huge masquerade party happening at one of the most riches and promising families in all Verona. Stepping into the ball room was almost like stepping into the famous gala told in fairy-tale stories, where everything was beautiful, the soft music was being played by a famous orchestra, the food was deliciously mouth-watering, and everyone looked amazing in their costumes.

There was plenty of striking young women, which was the main reason why he was forced to come to the ball in the first place, but as beautiful as they were none of them were able to fully grasp his attention and actually hold it longer than a second. So, while his friends were dancing the night away with beautiful maidens, he was sulking by the corner, trying to look like he was having some fun when really he was wondering when the torment was going to be over.

But all that suddenly changed the moment as his blue eyes darted over to the center of the room, which was being occupied with graceful dancers somehow creating something wonderful and beautiful with their feet and movements, and immediately saw her bowing low to her partner before she was twirled around.

His first impression of her was something he knew right then and there he'd treasure forever. Beauty too unbelievable and indescribable for words, her hourglass and slender figure fantastically shown through the amazing fairy costume she wore to the ball that made her look like a angel from heaven, and she had such grace and poise most girls could only dream of obtaining.

As she twirled while giggling softly under her breath, the moment she turned around and met his eyes as he looked into those beautiful emerald eyes everything else seemed to perish for the moment and nothing else mattered at all.

They both were silent and frozen for a moment, which felt more like a long, slow century that was going on fine without them, till a dark-skinned and dark-haired girl dressed in a costume that was similar to hers cut the moment by stepping in and taking her away.

He had to watch from afar as the beauty danced and danced with endless partners, making it clear she was the desirable partner nearly every man in the ball wanted to dance with. It was hard to watch her smile and bow before her partner, agonizing for him to watch her body being tightly pressed against someone that wasn't him, and was killing him inside as each partner would kiss her land, letting his lips lingering there while there was a certain glint of hunger in their eyes.

A hunger, predacious look seen in the eye of a tiger when he's standing before his meal.

He couldn't stand to watch the torment anyway, so he gathered his courage and quickly asked her to dance before someone else could ask her, smiling widely as she accepted the offer. He remembered the way their bodies seem to fit together like a perfect fit as they were pressed against each other, the soft touch of her flawless skin as he held her hand, and now everything else seemed to blue away into nothing while they were locked in a powerful trance as they looked into each other's eyes.

They danced and danced to every soft song music playing, holding each other tightly and gazing deeply into each other's eyes, both of them never wanting the night to ever end. When the music was over, he was able to steal her away from the party where they had some privacy by a corner, behind the grand stair case.

He sighed in pleasure from the memories that took place at the party. The soft twinkle gleaming brightly as a star in her beautiful, deep green eyes he couldn't get out from his mind, the way her cheeks were blushing scarlet red as he complimented her and the beautiful smile lit on her face. Or the way time seemed to stop and everything faded away the moment their lips slowly and softly came together in a deep, passionate kiss taking away his breath in an instant before he settled in and kissed her.

And again and again after that.

They would still be kissing by their secret place if her friend whom he saw her talking to and dancing with earlier hadn't come, along with an elderly maid woman by her side, to tell the beauty her mother wished to speak to her.

He felt so lonely when she slowly pulled away from his embrace, and she gave him a apologetic look before she walked over to a slightly older woman wearing much makeup that resembled her but didn't have the same twinkle in her eyes as she did. Sharing how the two resembled each other, he could tell the older woman was her mother but there was something about her that seemed very familiar to him. He questioned the maid who the lady was, and remembered her following words that never failed to give him a good punch in the gut each time he thought back about it.

"_Marry bachelor, her mother is the lady of the house, and a good lady of the house, and a wise and virtuous. I nursed her daughter that you talked withdal." _Said her, having no idea her words numbed his entire soul the moment she finished her sentence and he was left in shock.

She was Lady Flora, daughter and only child of the Capulets, who have been bitter rivals with his family, the Montagues, for centuries.

Where were the odds? That the beautiful maiden he danced the night away with, the girl who immediately stolen his heart with one glance, was actually the daughter of his family's enemy? Someone he should have hated because of the long rivalry going on between their families, but was someone he couldn't get out from his mind no matter how hard he wanted to.

When the nurse had spoken those shocking words, everything else became a constant blur to him with only a few figments of memory slipping into mind. Timmy and his friends quickly rushing him out from the house when they were beginning to get recognized, the odd they were given from people they ran by, and the look on Flora's face as he turned back to look at her before he was completely out.

The look on her face was something too painful and haunted him physically and mentally each time he thought back.

Gone was the soft twinkle in her eyes that was gleaming with joy and warmth when she looked at him earlier and from their kisses they shared, which died into utter shock written in her widened eyes. Her beautiful smile was dimming slower and slower the longer she looked at him, until fially it completely vanished. She remained still in shock as a frozen statue while watching him leave her home, but there a certain glint in her eyes.

A question so clear and loud, he could hear it echoing in his ears.

_Why? _

The look in her eyes haunted him like a ghost, constantly showing up in his mind whenever he thought back on it, and made him more ill with the reminder. She was a Capulet, someone who was born to be his enemy he was supposed to loathe and wish to hell and yet…

He couldn't stop thinking about her.

While running away, he thought about that question for the longest time, often going back to sqaure one whenever he was frustrated with a possibly. He remembered the way she smiled at him, the feelings coming alive inside him the moment he locked eyes with hers, and the tender pressure of their lips being pressed together always making his lips quiver from remembrance.

When he finally got the answer, he pulled away from his friends and ran back to the Capulet's estate. It was that reason that helped him find his way back to the mansion, making a smart move by using the back way to avoid meeting the guards at the front entrance. It was the reason he climbed a tall, orchard wall and was now climbing down, worrying about seeing her again than the possibly of falling to his death. And the reason he couldn't care less about what happened between their family in the past.

All because of love.

The moment he came down, he was still as a statue for a moment, crotched down like he was ready to leap again and waited till the loud pounding going on with his heart slowly went back to normal before running.

The Capulet's estate was almost as grand and big as a palace, with every Victorian-style mansion connected to another mansion or a tall tower, both which were tall in width and length. The entire estate had more than five hundred acres; the backyard almost resembled a forest with the tall trees, ivy vines, and bushes that acted as his camouflage.

His blue eyes scanned the back of the main mansion in front of him, which was the biggest one out from all the buildings, and saw there were several closed-door balconies leading to a bedroom. As he saw there was only one that was the closet to him with the light still on, he hoped it was hers and slowly walked toward it while his heart was nearly bursting out from his chest.

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" He murmured to himself as he climbed onto the branches belonging to a firm oak near the balcony, moving with caution as he climbed higher and higher till he reached the near top, where he was only two feet away from the balcony while envisioning Flora inside.

He could already picture her walking into her room, which no doubt was fit for a princess such as her, sitting in front of the mirror and looking at her reflection. Wearing that same sad, destroyed look on her face she had given him before he left the party after he discovered her secret.

He shook his head to be rid of that image and waited patiently; hoping she was still awake and he could tell her how he really feels. "It is the east, and Flora is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief that thou her art far more fair than she. Be not her maid, since she is envious; her vestal livery is but sick and green and none but fools do wear it. Cast it off."

The doors slowly opened, the seconds ticking by slowly and making his heart race fast. A girl in her nightgown came out from her room, staring at the moon with daze in her eyes and didn't seem to notice him. He squinted his eyes and lean in a bit to see her better, but when he saw who it was he sucked in his breath and let out a sigh with a smile. His heart was coming to life inside and nearly bursting from his chest, feelings he never felt before that were deep and strong roaring like a fire, from the mere sight of her.

"It is my lady, O, it is my love!" He sighed, the smile still not wiped from his face as he watched her staring at the moon. "O, that she knew she were! She speaks, yet she says nothing. What of that? Her eyes discourses; I will answer it." He opened his mouth and leaned forward, prepared to reveal himself to her but realized he'd likely scare her away. "I am too bold. 'Tis not to me she speaks.

Flora was gazing up at the velvety black sky, dressed in a flimsy white nightgown that barely covered her thighs and showed the pink shorts she wore underneath it. Her emerald eyes dazed but were reflecting the beautiful twinkle of her stars, her lustrous caramel hair was freed from the pins used to pull it up from earlier and was now flowing down her back, shimmering in the moonlight, and her face was free of makeup and looked so naturally beautiful.

So beautiful, too gentle, she was like an angel. It was too shocking to him she wasn't.

"Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their spheres till they return. What if her eyes were there, they in her head? The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing and think it was not night."

"See how she leans her cheek upon her hand!" Watching her lay her soft hand against her cheek, he sighed in pleasure as he remembered how not too long ago he was kissing that very hand and caressing it like the fine shrine it was. What he would give to have another chance to touch that hand once more? "O, that I were a glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek!"

She was exhausted from the tiring day and evening she went through, but was too restless to even think about sleeping when so many questions were burning and churning inside her head. Questions she wanted to desperately answer, but didn't have the answers to them. She was more confused than she ever been in her entire life, confused about what she knew and felt, what happened at the ball and what she'll do if she sees him again.

She sighed as she tried to cast him away from her mind, but was unsuccessful as flashes of him raced through her head, refusing to let her and her heart be.

The beautiful stranger she danced with at the ball, looking too beautiful and tragic dressed as the infamous Phantom of the Opera with the imfamous white mask covering half his handsome face, revealing one side of his God-like perfection, his long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and his aqua eyes held such intensity when they locked eyes it stunned her into a breathless silence.

He was so completely different from Paris Dawson, who was the young bachelor mother had no trouble hinting he wanted her hand in marriage. Paris was a good-looking man himself with his thick, dark hair and dark eyes, chiseled features, and breathtaking smile that could easily make any girl swoon. He was also rich and came from a powerful family, making him the perfect man for her in her parents' options, and was the man nearly every girl wanted to be with.

Her mother and nurse, even her best friend, Layla, thought it was amazing that out of all the girls he picked her to be his bride. But there was only one reason he wanted to be with her, besides the facts she came from a powerful family that was wealthy and he admired her father, and that was because of her beauty, which the main attraction to every man of Verona who looked upon her face. He tried wooing her by throwing compliments at her and flirting with her as they danced, with him pressing her body tightly against his and holding her tight, trying to make her fall for him and talking so much about himself he didn't even bother trying to know her better. Doubtlessly he figured her being a beauty was all he needed to know.

But the dark-haired, beautiful strangers, the one who came to her rescue when she finally able to escape from Paris and whisked her away while everyone was listening to a famous singer singing, was…indescribable. Being around was completely indescribable. So amazing and beautiful like she was living as a princess from her favorite fairytales stories she adored reading, where she goes to the ball and finds her prince, or was part of a dream she never wanted to end. He was like a prince Charming himself with his lean and tall, toned body, his silk and long midnight hair she just wanted to run her fingers through to see if it was soft as it looked, and had such an alluring aura surrounding him.

The intensity in his aqua eyes when he looked into her eyes was something that always made her heart race inside, recalling how it seemed he was burning every one of her features into memory and seeing all her of her. Seeing the true her no one else never seen before or noticed it even existed. His touch was so soft as he held her, making her knees feel weak. And his kiss, something she never existed before in her life and caused her lips to quiver in remembrance, made her feel so complete and alive, as if she was something just waiting for him and finally came to life when their lips founded each other.

Everything felt like such a fairy-tale dream she never wanted to end, but the dream came down and crashed hard the second she found out who she really was.

Helia Montague, whose family has been enemies with her family for centuries and centuries. She had actually fall for someone meant to be her enemy, but she couldn't muster any feelings of hatred or dislike toward him no matter how hard she tried.

She wished she could tell someone who would give some advice, but she had no one to turn to. Her mother was no help to her since she was far too busy trying to match her with Paris and worrying more about herself than her own daughter. Her kind nurse, who has taken good care of her since she was a baby, was more of a mother to her but she also was the one who told him who Helia really in the first place as soon as she found herself, so there was no telling what she would say. There was always Layla, her personal maid who was more of a best friend than a servant and the sister she never had, but she was someone who never believed in romances in the first place, claiming such a thing like love exist only in fairy tales and dreams.

So, she finally came out to her balcony, looking up at the dark sky and feeling soothing as she gazed at the moon, which was like a big silvery eye looking down at her and telling her it was here to listen to her problems.

Even though the moon couldn't really give her any consent, it still felt good to let her feelings out that have been bottled up inside her since the party. She had so many questions she needed answers to, but the main one she really wanted to know was what she was going to do when she sees the beautiful stranger again.

_I never felt this way about anyone else_, she thought as she remembered the passion in his kiss that was not only passionate, but so gentle and set off sensations bright and hot as fireworks inside her. The lovingly way he held her at the times they were dancing and they weren't, holding her firmly but never tightly, and almost seemed like he was ready to protect her from anything meant to harm her. How being with him really was like a wonderful dream she never wanted to end. _He is someone I always dreamt about being with, but it isn't meant to be. The wounds from the feud our families have been in for decades are too deep to heal, and our parents would never let us be together. _

"Ay me!" she sighed softly under her breath, wishing she knew what to do.

"She speaks!" he muttered, never taking his eyes off his angel for a second. "O, speak again, bright angel, for thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head, as is a winged-messenger from heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy puffing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air."

Almost instantly did she began to speak softly again, almost as though she could hear his request. "O Helia, Helia, wherefore art thou Helia? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?"

"Tis but thy name that is my enemy; thou art thyself not a Montague. What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot, nor arm, nor face belonging to a man. O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet; so Helia would, were he not Helia called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title. Helia, doff thy name, and for thy name, which is no part of thee, take all myself."

All it took was those words to set off excitement inside, more than eager and wanting more than enough to make her his. Without even thinking, he exclaimed "I take thee at thy word!"

A hand immediately flew to her heart, as if too keep it from jumping out from her chest. A scream was stuck in her throat, a scream loud and ear-scattering ready to be let out, but she sealed her mouth to keep it inside and not to alert nearby guards. As she turned around, she found herself locking with the beautiful blue eyes belonging to the beautiful stranger known now as the gentle Helia Montague, standing on a branch near her balcony and wore a big, excited grin on his face. She couldn't believe he was actually here, so close enough to hear every word she was saying and flushed with embarrassment and anger he was listening in on her private thoughts. Thoughts she didn't want anyone else to know about other than herself

"What man are thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel?" She wished she had wore a bed robe so that she could cover the flimsy nightgown she chosen to come out in, and was quickly heading to her doors, ready to retreat the safe base known as her room.

"By a name I know not how to tell thee who I am," Helia quickly explained, slowly reaching near the end of the branch and holding onto the branch over his head to keep him from falling to the ground. He sighed in relief when she stopped the moment she was about to about her door, and slowly turned back to him."My name, dear saint, is hateful to myself because is it an enemy of thee; had I it written, I would tear the word."

Any anger she felt toward her vanished in an instant when she heard those words, but she remained herself to remain calm. Allowing herself to smile softly at him, which made him smile back at her the same smile, she took small steps toward her balcony. "I am not dreaming then?" When he shook his head, her soft smile widened just a bit but still she remained herself not to lose control of herself. "Are you Helia and also a Montague?"

"Neither, dear Flora, if you dislike them."

"How did you get here?" she asked. "The orchard walls surrounding my house are high and hard to climb, and is heavily guarded. You'd be killed, without a doubt, if you were found."

Taking another small step closer to the edge of the branch and still keeping a firm grip on the branch above him, he smiled at her as he said "My heart was given life at the party when I met you, and because of that light you burned inside me I was able to practically fly over these walls. A man following the sweet sound and direction of his heart is invincible to anything, so dangers are not impossible to him."

"If they see you, they will murder you." The thought of him being dead was something so sickening; she felt herself cringing and her stomach churning from the unbearable thought of it.

"I have night's cloak to hide me from their eyes," He glanced up at the dark sky, before returning his eyes back to hers. Those beautiful emerald eyes so lovely and beautiful, holding so much warmth and kindness within them. His expression then changed, the soft smile disappearing from his face, and suddenly he became somber. "If I am caught, then I don't care what they do to me. As long as I know you love me as I do you, then that's the only thing I want to know of before death strikes me. But if you don't want me or love me, let them find me here. My life would be better ended by their hate than go on without knowing of your love."

Love? That was something she hadn't expected him to say, and hearing him say such a powerful word without any hesitation sent chills tingling down her spine. Did he really mean or was it just the heat of the moment, she wondered, both scared and curious to really know. "Do you love me?"

He leaned forward to speak, but she quickly cut him off "If you really do, then I will take thy word. But if you were lying, then all it would do is destroying me. At lovers' perjuries, they say, Jove laughs. If you really do love me, Helia, pronounce it faithfully, or you if you think I'm too quickly won I'll try to play the hard-to-get type if that's what you prefer," He quickly, without hesitation, leaped from the branch to the edge of her balcony, holding onto it tight, and she went over to him. "But trust me, gentleman, I'll prove more true than those who are more your kind. I promise you this with a love that is deep and true."

"Lady," he smiled, and then gestured at the beautiful moon shining down on them. "By the beautiful, blessed moon, I swear-"

"Don't swear by the moon," she interrupted, glancing up at the wide slivery eye-like orb shining and feeling a slight twinge of disgust after hearing the vow he wanted to make. "The ever-changing moon. I hope you don't turn out to be as variable as that."

"What should I swear by?" He asked.

"Don't swear at all," She said, and then thought it over for a moment before moving closing to him. She held his hand and laced their fingers through each other, joining them in a holy palmers' kiss. "Or if you really insist, then swear by your gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe it."

"If that satisfies my dear love, then I swear..." His voice trailed off as he leaned closer to her, closing the remaining small distance between them and was lost in the beauty of her emerald eyes. Slowly, their lips met and everything faded away into nothingness except the feeling the magnificent sparks flying through their bodies, forming some sort of a warm and protective cocoon around their bodies, connecting them together. Everything immediately intensified the second one of his Helia's arms was wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him as the kisses deepened and were much more passionate than before.

Flora felt like she was melting to the ground, but couldn't think of anything other than the fact how marvelous and wonderful it felt kissing him again. Soon, the lack of oxygen overcame her and she slowly pulled back, panting hard while licking her lips. Cupping his face in her hands, she placed a slow and deep kiss before slowly pulling back. "Don't swear. All this is just too fast and sudden, we only just met. Sweet goodnight."

Offering him one last smile and placing a kiss on his hands, Flora walked back to her room, leaving Helia alone who felt that cold sense of loneliness without her by his side and asked her if she really planned to leave him so unsatisfied. Hearing this cause her to worry and then blush bright red with the possible thought if his intentions involved sexual matter, and swallowed the nervous lump wedged in her throat before she slowly turned back to him.

"What satisfaction can you have tonight?"

"The exchange of your faithful love's vow for mine." He smiled.

She took in a breath and let it out in a sigh, with a small and soft smile lifting up the corners of her lips. "I gave thee mine before thou didst request it, and yet I would it were to give again."

The smile on his face was dimming and dimming, till it was completely gone. Flora smiled at his confused as she walked back to him again, once more lacing their fingers and joining their hands in the holy palmers' kiss. "Take it back?" he asked, confused. "For what purpose, love?"

"To be frank and give it to you again," He lunged at her then and captured their lips in such a passionate, intense kiss that immediately rob them of breaths, but it was a kiss they didn't want to end. The kiss started out passionately and only gradually grew in ferocity. They clung to each other desperately, never wanting to break the contact. This time, when the need to breathe took over, his lips didn't pause but kept kissing all over her face, the corners of her lips, her cheeks, along her jaw, down her throat and back up again. "And yet I wish but for the thing I have. My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."

"FLORA!" At the sound of the voice they broke apart, but still held each other tightly in their arms.

"I'm coming!" Flora called, and then turned back to Helia. "Wait here. I'll be right there."

Smiling, he watched her go and inside he felt like jumping for joy. "Blessed, blessed night. I feel as if though it is a dream, a wonderous dream."

Quickly, Flora came back and said "Helia, three words and good night indeed. If you are true with your intention of marriage, send me word tomorrow. I will someone to whom you can deliver. Give me the place and time you wish to perform the marriage, and I will yours always."

"FLORA!"

"I'm coming!" she yelled, and then turned back to him. "But if your intentions are not true as they seem-"

"_FLORA!_"

"_I'm coming!_" she yelled extra loudly, and then quickly finished her sentence in a low murmur. "Then I beg you not to pursue me any further and leave me to my grief. Tomorrow, I will send."

"So thrive my soul-"

"A thousand times goodnight."She kissed his hand multiple times, quickly pecked his lips, and retreated back to her with a huge smile on her face while Helia was soon back on the ground and leaving the estate with happiness and peace of mind, feeling so invincible there was nothing in the world that could stop him.

**AN: I loved Romeo and Juliet, and always wanted to make a Flora/Helia one-shot based off the balcony scene. For obvious reasons I had to change the Romeo to Helia and Juliet to Flora, but thought it would be fun to have a few lines from the play and also throw in some modern lines as well. Hope you liked it. **


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